We give voice to the issues that moms are silently facing. We identify and bring visibility to the solutions that working families need.
Amplify
We conduct research about the political participation of mamas and examine the effectiveness of American policies in meeting the needs of working families.
Analyze
We work to break the institutional barriers moms face while running for and serving in office. We provide federal, state, and local legislators and stakeholders with the tools they need to pass truly family-friendly legislation.
Advocate
our advocacy
Mamas with minor kids face unique barriers when running for and serving in public office. Vote Mama Foundation is working to break the structural and cultural barriers that keep moms from running for and serving in office. By using a two-pronged approach to challenge the status quo, Vote Mama Foundation is advancing equitable policy solutions to dismantle the barriers that keep parents out of office and out of power. It is not enough to get more parents in the room, we need to change the structure and culture of state legislatures to get and keep parents at the table.
CAMPAIGN FUNDS FOR CHILDCARE
Campaign Funds for Childcare is a vital resource for parents and caregivers who are running for office. In 2018, our Founder and CEO, Liuba Grechen Shirley, petitioned the Federal Election Commission and became the first woman to receive federal approval to spend the funds she raised for her campaign on childcare expenses. Vote Mama Foundation is working to expand this allowance to state and local candidates in all 50 states. We are the only organization helping state candidates petition their election commissions and working with legislators to introduce and pass legislation to approve the use of Campaign Funds for Childcare.
running for office
STATE LEGISLATURE MODERNIZATION
Legislators who are parents with minor children face significant hurdles that impact their ability to effectively and sustainably serve. Vote Mama Foundation has identified the barriers that hold parents back, especially moms with minor children, and we help to advance bipartisan, family-friendly solutions. It is not enough to bring moms to the decision-making table, we need to help them STAY there.
serving in office
our research
Gender equity is a widely researched topic in the political sphere, but the focus on motherhood in politics is nascent. Moms of minor children comprise an all-but-unexplored research population that is critical to understand, not just as a subpopulation of women, but as a distinct population in its own right that is integral to a well-functioning government and to achieving gender equity in politics. Vote Mama Foundation is the leading source of research on the political participation of mothers. Though our analysis focuses on mamas of young children, we collect and share broad data with implications across the field of political research.
Vote Mama Foundation is the only organization tracking the number of mothers with minor children serving as legislators throughout the country and has produced the Politics of Parenthood dataset which is, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive publicly available demographic dataset of state and federal legislators in the United States.
politics of parenthood
Vote Mama Foundation is the only organization working to authorize the use of Campaign Funds for Childcare in all 50 states, track its usage, and analyze its impact on government’s accessibility and diversity. Our data shows that when candidates are authorized to use their campaign funds on caregiving expenses—they do. CFCC usage rose exponentially from 2018 to 2022 at the federal, state, and local levels, especially among candidates from historically underrepresented groups.